No bail for Kanahele, federal judge rules

Lawyer asks the court not to send the defendant to the mainland

Hayden Aluli, attorney for Nation of Hawaii leader Dennis "Bumpy" Kanahele, hopes his client won't be sent to a mainland prison pending his trial in October.

"We're hoping that he can remain in Hawaii," Aluli said yesterday after U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor upheld a magistrate's ruling to hold Kanahele without bail until his trial for harboring a fugitive.

Kanahele could be held at a federal facility in Alameda, Calif., officials said.

After hearing Kanahele promise he would meet all court appearances and other requirements if released, Gillmor denied defense motions to overturn Magistrate Barry Kurren's earlier decision.

Character witnesses Mahealani Kamau`u, executive director of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., and Marc Oley, former chairman of the Hawaii Paroling Authority, testified that they did not think freeing Kanahele would pose a risk pending his trial.

FBI Agent Jerry Bogard, the only witness Assistant U.S. Attorney Les Osborne called, testified he rode in a car with Kanahele to the U.S. marshal's office after Kanahele's Aug. 2 airport arrest. Kanahele is accused of three charges related to harboring tax protester Nathan Brown.

Bogard said Kanahele told him he did not recognize the jurisdiction and that if anyone should be arrested, it was the federal agents for war crimes.

"His promise is only as good as the opportunity makes it for him," Osborne said.

Aluli argued that Kurren should have disqualified himself after saying he previously received a warrant for his arrest from the Nation of Hawaii and viewed it as a threat. But Gillmor did not agree, saying Kurren showed no prejudice or lack of impartiality.

Gillmor also sided with prosecution in forbidding the making of any political statements on Kanahele's behalf. She also ruled against Aluli's attempts to dispute the facts of a 1987 case in which Kanahele was convicted of terroristic threatening of a policeman with a gun during an occupation at Makapuu Lighthouse.

Oley testified that Kanahele's prison time was reduced because he did well in prison and convinced the parole board he would not touch firearms in the future.

Later, outside the courtroom, Aluli told reporters he was disappointed. "I would think that the court would have more compassion."